Flying toy



Feb. 28, 1939. J. H. DAWSON FLYING TOY Filed April 9, 1958 Patented Feb.28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE FLYING TOY John H. Dawson,Rockville, Md.

Application April 9, 1938, Serial No. 201,189

6 Claims.

This invention relates to an aerial toy in the form of a spinning topprovided with a detachable toy propeller, and with means operable torelease the propeller at a certain instant during the spin of the top topermit the propeller to rise automatically into the air at the instantof release.

The main object of the invention is to provide an amusement device, ortoy, embodying an ordinary spinning top as one of its essential elementsand which can be used in the manner of an ordinary spinning top tooperate a toy propeller and cause it to rise to great heights in the airat the instant of release from the top.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the detaileddescription thereof proceeds.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through a preferred form of theinvention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 1; with thespinning member removed;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section, to an enlarged scale, showing detailsof construction of a propeller latching mechanism;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of a modified form of the invention;

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 68 of Figure5;

Figure '7 is a fragmentary section, to a greatly enlarged scale, takenon the line 1--1 of Figure 5; and

Figure 8 is a perspective of a modified form of toy propeller.

Referring to the drawing, the toy comprises a spinning top designatedgenerally by the reference numeral 5, and a toy propeller designatedgenerally by the reference numeral 6. The top 5 includes a substantiallyconical casing 1 suitably secured at its base to a disk 8 having aspinning rod 9 extending through the center thereof and terminating in aspike 19 secured to the casing 1 at its apex.

The disk 8 is stamped to form an upwardly directed plate H bounded by anannular shoulder 12 coaxial with the spinning rod 9. A toy propeller ofsubstantially the same diameter as disk 8, and formed from a disk l3 ofsheet material, is provided at its center with a circular opening 14fitting somewhat loosely around the shoulder 12. 55 Lifting blades I5are stamped out from the propeller disk and are equiangularly spacedapart around the same.

A pair of latch strips 16 and I1 extend in alineupper hook-ends of thelatches project.

Latch operating members 26 and 21 are pivoted to the lower ends oflatches 29 and 2|, and are each provided with a stop 28, limiting therotaone direction about their tion of said member in pivotal connectionsto said latches. A collar 29 is rotatably mounted on the spinning rod 9within the casing 1 and a pair of rods 30 and 31 extend from said collarin alinement with each other and through slots 32 and 33 formed in thecasing 1 near the upper end thereof. These rods are substantiallyparallel to the disk 8, and'are provided at their outer ends with cups34 and 35, respectively, which serve through air resistance to impartrotation to the collar 29, the rotation of which is yieldingly resistedby the coil spring 36 having one end thereof secured to the collar 29and the other end see the spinning shaft 9.

ured to the lower end of A cylindrical spinning member 31 is adapted tofit over the projecting upper end of the spinning rod 9, and to seat onthe plate H. A coil spring 38 is Wound around the bore 39 of the member31 and has its upper end secured to the member 31, while the lower endis provided with a downwardly turned projection forming a pin 40 adaptedto fit into any of the apertures 4| formed concentrically around theaxis of the pin 9. The lower end of the member 31 is also provided witha spring pressed plunger 42 adapted to seat in the plate I Iconcentrically with the axis of the spinning rod 9.

In the operation of the device, the propeller disk I3 is first seated onthe disk 8, with the latches 20 and 2| and I1, respectively. In thisposition,

26 and 21 are located, as

operating members shown in Figures 1 an engaging the keeper strips [6the latch d 4, so as to contact with ber 31 is applied to the plate I I,as shown in Fi ure 1 of the drawing, and is used to impart rotation tothe top as a whole in the usual manner.

As the top starts to spin, the air resistance against the cups 34 and 35imparts rotation, through the rods and 3|, to the collar 29 and swingseach of the latch operating members 26 and 21 from their normal verticalpositions to the dotted line position shown in Figure 4 of the drawing.Continued rotation of the rods 30 and 3| causes these rods to move underand past the lower ends of the latch operating members 26 and 21, whichthen swing by gravity about their pivots to their normal verticalpositions. As the speed of the top decreases, the air resistancedecreases, and the tensioned spring 36 rotates the collar 29 and therods and 3| in the opposite directions so as to strike the rear edgesofthe latch operating members 25 and 21. Since the stops 28 prevent thelatch operating members 26 and 21 from swinging out of alignment withthe latches 20 and 2| in the direction of the stops 28, the return forceof the rods 30 and 3| trips the latches 20 and 2| and releases them fromthe keeper strips Hi and H, respectively. When so released, the spinningaction of the top and air resistance operating on the blades I5 of thepropeller disk |3 causes the said disk 3 to be projected upwardly intothe air.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7, the topand its spinning mechanism is identical with that illustrated in Figures1 to 4, inclusive. The modification resides entirely in the propeller44, which comprises a ring adapted to fit over the annular shoulder 2 onthe disk 8. Propeller blades 46 and 47 extend radially in oppositedirections from the aforesaid ring, The propeller 44 is made of thinCelluloid, or some similar material, sufficiently elastic to permit theblades to be distorted from their normal helical shape to lie flat onthe plane surface of the disk 8 which constitutes the upper end of thetop.

The normal helical shape of the propeller blades 46 and 41 is shown inFigure 6 of the drawing. When applied to the top prior to spinning,these blades 46 and 41 are twisted and bent downwardly at their outerends to lie fiat on the disk 8 and are then engaged by the latches 20and 2| to maintain them in the same plane as the ring 45 during theinitial spinning of the top. In the operation of this form of theinvention, the propeller 44 is applied to the plane surface of thespinning top and its blades 46 and 4'! are bent downwardly to lie flaton that plane surface. The latches 20 and 2| are moved into engagementwith the adjacent edges of the propeller blade. The spinning member 3!is then applied to the plate H, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, andis used to impart rotation to the top in the usual manner. As the topstarts to spin, the air resistance against the cup 34 and 35 impartsrotation to the collar 29 and trips the latch operating members 26 and21, as indicated by the dotted'lines of Figure 4 of the drawing.

During this initial spinning, the propeller blades ofler practically noresistance. As the rate of spin of the top decreases, the air resistancedecreases and the spring 36 then rotates the collar 29 and causes therods 3|! and 3| to swing the latch operating members 26 and 21 in suchmanner as to trip the latches 2|) and 2| and release them from thelatched edges of the propeller blades 46 and 41. When thus released, theblades 46 and 4! assume their normal helical shape in which the airresistance'operates to cause the propeller 44 to be projected as a wholeupwardly into the air.

In the modification shown in Figure 8, the propeller 48 comprises a ring49 adapted to fit around the shoulder |2 on the disk 8. Lugs 50 and 5|are turned up at diametrically opposite points of the ring 49 and areapertured to receive pivot pins 52 and 53, respectively, which passthrough corresponding apertures provided in small flanges 54 and 55formed on the inner end of propeller blades 56 and 51, respectively. Theflanges 54 and 55 are provided with stops 58 and 59 which extend overthe ring 49 to limit the rotation in one direction of the propellerblades 56 and 5'! about their pivot pins 52 and 53. Small leaf springs60 and GI are secured at one end of each to the propeller blades 56 and57, respectively, and have their other ends bent into contact with theupper surface of the ring 49 in order to hold the propeller blades 56and 5'! in normal screwpropeller position.

The form of propeller illustrated in Figure 8 is to be applied to theplane surface 8 of the top in the same manner as the propeller 44 shownin Figure 5 of the drawing. The operation with this form of propeller issubstantially the same as that involved in the operation of thepropeller 44. The only difference in the two forms of propellers is thatthe blades 46 and 47 of the propeller 44 are made integral with the ring45 and are adapted to be distorted into the same plane as the said ring,whereas, the propeller blades 56 and 51 of the propeller 48 are pivotedto the ring 49 and are held yieldingly in normal operative position bymeans of the leaf springs 60 and 6|.

This application is a continuation, in part, of my application SerialNo. 178,165 filed December 4th, 1937 and allowed January 12th, 1938.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be considered aslimited to the particular details of construction disclosed herein, norin any other manner except as indicated by the scope of the claimsappended hereto.

What I claim is:

l. A spinning top, a propeller member seated thereon, means forreleasably latching said member to said top, and means operable by thesuccessive increase and decrease of the speed of rotation of said topfor releasing said member to effect projection of said member bodilyinto the air.

2. A spinning top, a propeller member seated thereon, means for latchingsaid member releasably to said top, means for spinning said top, andmeans operable by the successive increase and decrease or" the speed ofrotation imparted by the spinning of said top to efiect release of saidlatching means and the separation of said top and propeller member.

3. A spinning top comprising an inverted, conical base, a disk closingsaid base and dished at its center to form a supporting plate for aspinning member, a spinning rod extending axially through said plate andbase, a propeller member seated on said plate, latches pivoted withinsaid base and extending through said plate to lock said memberreleasably to said plate, and means within said base operable by thesuccessive increase and decrease of the speed of spinning of said topfor releasing said latches to permit the propeller member to beprojected from the spinning top.

4. A spinning top having a flat upper surface, a disk seated on saidsurface and provided with propeller blades, means for releasablylatching said disks to said surface, andmeans within the top andoperable by the successive increase and decrease or the speed ofrotation thereof for erfecting release of said latching means to permitsaid disk to rise bodily into the air from said top.

5. A spinning top, a propeller member seated thereon, and means operableby the successive increase and decrease of the speed of rotation of saidtop to cause said member to rise bodily therefrom.

6. A spinning top, a propeller member seated thereon, and means forlatching said member releasably to said top, means for spinning saidtop, and means operated by the successive increase and decrease of thespeed of rotation imparted by the spinning thereof to release saidlatching means and thereby permit said propeller to rise bodily into theair by the rotation thereof as imparted thereto by the spinning top.

